TERROR BY NIGHT

The penultimate Rathbone - Bruce Sherlock Holmes film takes place on
only a few train compartment sets, and features much some
stock footage and some beautifully detailed but obvious model train
shots. Yet surprisingly, TERROR BY NIGHT stands alongside the best
entries of the series such as THE SCARLET CLAW and THE PEARL OF DEATH.
Think of it as "Murder on the Basil Rathbone Express" as
Holmes must uncover which one of several
day coach passengers in a day coach is responsible for a murder aboard
the train. He's got plenty of suspects to choose
from,
including a dear old friend of Dr. Watson, an irritable
mathematics
professor, and a mysterious young woman transporting a coffin
supposedly containing her mother.

Fast-paced, well-directed and
featuring a
handful of twists near the end, TERROR BY NIGHT is the
best Holmes
film since THE PEARL OF DEATH and certainly the finest of the last few
series entries. ½ - JB